37th Year, Number 1
VISIT THE ICELANDIC HORSES - WIENER ROAST AT GIMLI FARM
Saturday, September 28 11:00 - 4:00
(Rain Date: Sunday, September 29)
Everyone had so much fun last year that Gunnar and Lynda Helgason
have once again invited us to join them and their 130 Icelandic horses
for a wiener/marshmallow roast/pot luck lunch on their 618 acre farm near
Colborne, 75 mins. from the Don Valley.
Lots to see and do:
- Hayride tour of the farm for the children; bonfire
- Riding demonstration of the special gaits of the horses
- Guided hikes to explore the farm, stream and woods
- Share a pot-luck lunch with friends old and new (1:00-2:30)
- Roast wieners and marshmallows over the bonfire
- New crop honey, apples, crafts, videos, club goods on sale
Bring along sturdy shoes, a favourite casserole (cold), salad or dessert
to serve your group plus 4 other people and something to drink. Lunch will
be 1:00-2:30.
RSVP to Garry at 463-1324; tell us what you plan to bring; let us know
if you need or can offer a ride. Numbers are limited, so call to book as
soon as possible. The deadline is Sept.20th.
A map is enclosed. Be sure to call Garry or the farm (1-905-355-1041)
again the day before if there is any chance of rain.
THE JASON PROJECT GOES TO ICELAND
Tuesday, October 22nd 8:00 p.m.
Unitarian Hall, 175 St. Clair Ave. West
Readers of this Newsletter will remember the article in our April issue
about Holly Palmason Garrett, a Hamilton special education teacher and
the Club's Merchandising Manager. At that time, we reported that Holly
had won a Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in Science, Technology
and Mathematics.
We are very fortunate to have Holly as guest speaker at our October 22nd
meeting. Holly, a dedicated and enthusiastic teacher, will give us an overview
of this year's plans to feature Iceland in the JASON project with which
she is so closely associated.
Iceland is the most recent destination of this scientific educational organization
founded in 1989 as the brainchild of Dr. Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institute. His primary concern was to involve and excite
students in live scientific exploration both at a primary site where fortunate
young people observe scientists at work in the field via a live satellite
link, as well as on the actual site for a week's learning experience.
Annual JASON projects which Holly has participated in between 1989 and
1996 have included such diverse locations as the Mediterranean Sea, Lake
Ontario, the Galapagos Islands, Baja California, Belize, Hawaii, and the
Florida Everglades.
Mark Oct. 22nd on your calendar for an exciting and informative time
Members $3:00
Non-members $4.00
The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto Newsletter
FÁLKINN -THE FALCON
- Editor: Gail Einarson-McCleery
Editorial
When I attended the INL Convention in Winnipeg this year, one of
the most important topics debated was how to interest our youth in their
heritage. My interpretation of the discussion was that a three-pronged
approach is desirable.
We must start getting youth involved at an early age, and one way to
do this is to encourage participation in initiatives such as the Icelandic
Language and Culture Camp run during the summer near Gimli. It was interesting
to speak to one of my cousins whose three children have all taken part;
they found the experience so alluring, that once they were too old to be
attendees, they became volunteer counsellors. This summer the ICCT was
pleased to be able to help the camp with a financial donation. Next year,
we plan to start a scholarship to send a young person from this are a to
the camp.
Student Exchange programs with Iceland were also on the agenda. Sigrid
Johnson, INL Cultural Director, is examining how these might be organized.
In this context, it is worth noting that Brittany has sent 2000 students
from France to Iceland over the past 12 years. If they can do this, surely
we can find the way to organize something similar.
If we are successful in creating an awareness of their heritage
in these children, it is possible that they may go on to University and
wish to further their knowledge of Iceland by studying in the Department
of Icelandic Studies at the University of Manitoba. We heard three speakers
on this topic and it is sad to relate that at this time attendance is falling
and funding is in jeopardy. To ensure that this very important facet of
our culture remains in place, we must encourage our children and grandchildren
to pursue studies in this department. Also, we must think of how we ourselves
can support it, whether by bequests now or in our wills. As a start, our
club has dedicated the proceeds of its sales of Canada-Iceland pins to
this cause.
PROFILE - LYNDA HELGASON, DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE
(by
Marilyn Ragna (Hurst) White)
The old adage "if you want something done, give it to a
busy person" certainly applies to the ICCT's new Director-at-Large,
Lynda Helgason. Lynda not only works with her husband Gunnar at Pagun Capital
Corp., an organization which raises money for small, emerging growth companies,
but also is deeply involved with him in Gimli Farm at Colborne, Ontario.
Gimli Farm is the home of about 130 Icelandic horses, a substantial growth
from the original 13 brought to Canada by the Helgasons in 1989. Members
will have a chance to see these beautiful horses at the farm on September
28th. The couple currently spends weekends at the farm, working with their
full-time farm manager, and Lynda is learning how to ride "regular
horses" at a nearby stable.
Although Lynda (nee Campbell) is third generation Canadian of Scots-Irish
descent, born and educated in East York, she has become intensely interested
in Icelandic culture, through her husband and her two trips to Iceland.
"The country is so impressive; geographically it is starkly and
startlingly beautiful and the people too are beautiful and healthy."
She has also had the privilege of meeting former President Vigdís
Finnbogadóttir at Government House.
We are pleased that Lynda has become involved in the work
of the club; in her we have a very vibrant and enthusiastic executive member.
COMING EVENTS:
Saturday, Sept. 28th 11:00 am (Rain date Sunday, Sept. 29th)
Visit Icelandic Horses at Gimli Farm, Colborne
Tuesday, October 22nd - 8:00 p.m. Unitarian Hall
The JASON Project goes to Iceland
Sunday, November 17th - 2:00 p.m. Unitarian Hall
Piano Recital featuring Nina-Margrét Grimsdóttir of Iceland
Nina has played all over Europe and North America ... her playing has been called " very beautiful and emotionally charged interpretations"
Sunday, December 1st - 2:00 p.m. Unitarian Hall
Jólatrésskemmun - Christmas fun for kids of all ages
Northumberland Hills Studio Tour
Sat. & Sun. Sept. 21 and 22
Tom Bjarnason, who designed our Falkínn logo on our T-shirts
and posters, has kindly offered his studio as one of the stops on the tour.
Take a drive through the Northumberland Hills on this autumn weekend and
explore the artistic interpretations of 25 local artists, as they open
their studios to visitors. They include painters, potters, quilt designers,
sculptors, and anvil artists. Follow the blue studio tour logo signs, or
call (905) 342-3261. Be sure not to miss Tom's fascinating works in various
mediums and his majestic studio overlooking the Ganaraska River.
THANKS TO...
Kristinn Gudjónsson who did a marvellous job in editing the May
Newsletter, while I was "playing" at the INL Convention in Winnipeg!
His Thorrablót pictures were also a treat.
Karen Rayner who leaves the Executive in order to attend Nipissing University
in North Bay. Karen has been our able Youth Co-ordinator for the last two
years.
Katrina Anderson Koven who is unable to continue as Assistant Newsletter
Editor due to the expansion of her music school, Yellow Dog Music. She
will continue as a Contributing Editor.
Ethel Strang, our gracious Social Convenor, who is retiring after doing
yeoman service.
WELCOME TO...
Marilyn Ragna (Hurst) White and James Baldur Steen who join the Executive
as Assistant Newsletter Editors. Profiles on them will be featured in upcoming
newsletters.
Jo-Ann (Markusson) Brignoly who becomes our new Youth Co-ordinator after
being a Director-at-Large for a year.
Leah Salt who has taken over the reins as Social Convenor.
Holly (Palmason) Garrett who has volunteered to take over the new post
of Merchandising Manager.
Kathleen McDermott who moves into the Librarian's chair vacated by Holly.
Call her at 449-6737 to borrow a book.
ALL OUR NEW MEMBERS - 29 of you in the last year! Our membership reached
the magic number of 300 in early August, and we are very pleased to see
all these new members. We hope you are able to take part in all of our
activities in the coming year.
RECENT EVENTS:
MAY MEETING:
A new slate of officers was elected at our Annual General Meeting and
an interim Financial Report was presented.
On the entertainment side, Marty Katz of Atlantis Films screened two episodes
of their new TV series My Life as a Dog, and also filled us in on
some of the details of the filming in Gimli and Winnipeg. His most vivid
memory seemed to be the last day of filming, which took place outdoors
in record-breaking temperatures of -40C! Despite this, he is hoping for
a renewal of the series, which is currently being seen on The Movie Channel
and for a sale to "regular" TV in the fall of 1997. Everyone
enjoyed the films and the chance to meet Marty and find out a little about
the behind the scenes action.
ICELANDIC IMMIGRATION
Later that same week, we were lucky enough to be visited by Dr. Christopher
Hale of the Scandinavian section of the Department of Germanic Languages
at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Chris gave us a most informative
lecture on the immigration period, filling in some little-known details such as the fact
that there was a serious push to found "New Iceland" in Alaska.
We were then treated to an impromptu reading by Sigga Moore of a story
which she felt illustrated the pioneer spirit - the story of how Fred Sigmundson
built his first house for $35.60, and later moved it over a frozen Lake
Winnipeg to Gimli. All the contents were in it, and not a thing broke!
It was originally published in the book In a Sea of Wind (Camden House).
By the way, two of Fred's children, Phyllis Pollard and Larry Sigmundson,
are club members.
VISIT BY PROFESSOR HARALDUR BESSASSON
AND MARGRÉT BJORGVINSDÓTTIR
I'm sure many of you heard about the two choirs which visited western
Canada this summer. One of them, the Akureyri Church Choir, had their tour
organized by Margrét Bjorgvinsdóttir (who also happens to
be the mother of our Icelandic teacher, Brandur Olafsson). She and her husband, Dr. Haraldur
Bessasson, also visited Brandur and his sister Guđrun here in Toronto,
and we took advantage of the opportunity to have a reception in their honour.
It took the form of a garden party at the home of Bill and Karen Hurst
and was a most pleasant affair. Many people who knew the Bessassons during
the 31 years he occupied the Chair of Icelandic Studies at the University
of Manitoba were there, as well as our Honorary Consul Jon Johnson and
his wife Pat. Haraldur spoke about keeping the language and culture alive.
He mentioned that at the time of immigration, those who thought Alaska
was the place to go, envisaged millions of people speaking the Icelandic
language within a short period of time - he suggested we should exhibit
the same sort of enthusiasm in making our plans to keep the language going.
PAULA STEPHANSON SWIMS LAKE ONTARIO
17 year old Paula Stephanson, a Grade
XII student at Moira Secondary School in Belleville, successfully swam
Lake Ontario on August 16/17. Starting out from Niagara-on-the-Lake on
Friday night at 11:40, she reached Marilyn Bell Park in Toronto 22 1/2
hours later. She says the worst part was the first night, battling seven
foot waves, nausea, and bitter cold. "By 10:00 a.m. it was dead calm
and much easier", she said. Paula has been swimming competitively
since she was ten years old. This year, when her companions quit for the
summer in June, she started training in open water for her first ever lake
swim. As for the future, she says she'll rest for a while before tackling
the next challenge. Paula's parents are Owen and Elenor Stephanson
GUY MADDIN SHOOTS NEW FILM
Best known for his controversial art house film Tales from the Gimli
Hospital (which we showed in its original film version in February
1995), Guy Maddin was involved in a new project this summer. Titled Twilight
of the Ice Nymphs, the $1.5 million film was shot in Manitoba. Club
member Ross Maddin, Guy's brother, tells us that the film had a cast including
British-based actor Nigel Whitmey (Jefferson in Paris), U.S. film
star Shelley Duvall (The Shining), Quebec actress Pascale Bussieres
(Blanche) Canadian star R.H. Thomson (theatre and TV), and Batman's
original riddlesome TV nemesis, Frank Gorshin. The whole film was shot
in sets constructed in a former iron-works factory; the sets include a
bog peopled by live ostriches, lobsters and garter snakes! Scripted by
University of Manitoba professor George Toles, Guy describes the story
as "a serious attempt at mapping out all the permutations possible
among six different lovers who are trying to connect with one another in
different ways". It's set in a northern locale which experiences around-the-clock
daylight. We'll have to see if we can get an advance screening of this
one!
ASTRONAUT BJARNI TRYGGVASON TO TRAIN FOR SHUTTLE
Congratulations to Iceland's first space traveler-to-be. Bjarni Tryggvason,
of Montreal, is one of 7 Canadian astronauts who have been invited to travel
on board one of the Space Shuttles in 1997. Bjarni, who was born in Iceland,
currently works as a consultant with Boeing on the construction of the
new American Space station as well as with the Russians on their space
station, Mir. (Courtesy of New Geysir, newsletter of the Icelandic Club
of Greater Seattle)
(P.S. Bjarni was also in the news in Toronto, where he appeared at
the C.N.E., along with some of his colleagues in the space program.)
NEWS FROM FORMER YOUTH CO-ORDINATOR MERRILL ALBERT
Many of your will remember our former Youth Co-ordinator, Merrill Albert,
whose career took her to Minneapolis a few years ago. Her mother, Joan
Albert, recently sent us a clipping from the local paper which features
Merrill in an article on fostering pregnant dogs and cats. Merrill was
a volunteer for the Humane Society when she lived in Toronto, and has continued
her role as a foster parent in her new home. She says "It's been a
lot of fun; I enjoy it. In the batch of kittens I have now, there were
a couple who were just really tiny and wouldn't have survived without help."
Keep up the good work, Merrill!
MILESTONES:
Thorburn Madden and Tania Hollister were married Sunday, August 25th
in a lovely garden ceremony at the Hamilton Botanical Gardens. Thorburn's
mother, Andrea, was the creator of the vinarterta wedding cake, which consisted
of one 15" layer (baked on a pizza pan) and one 8" layer. But
she used raspberries instead of prunes, because that's a family tradition.
Delicious! Thorburn hails from Guelph and has been the computer consultant
for the Newsletter for two years. Hopefully, he can continue from his new
home in Cambridge.
Leslie Jean White, the daughter of Marilyn Ragna White and Paul White,
married Edwin Cass on June 15th at the Granite Club in Toronto. Attending
the wedding were her grandparents William and Gyđa Hurst and her uncle
and aunt Bill and Karen Hurst. Bill is a past president of the ICCT. Leslie
is a third generation vinarterta chef! The couple are both in the banking
business - Leslie with Wood Gundy and Ed with Deutsche Bank.
Born to Salín Guttormsson and John Bertrand ...
a baby girl May 7th, 1996, named Halla Kristin Davony, 5 lbs. 15
oz. Salín mentioned in her note that they found the name
"Halla" in the Icelandic River Saga (by Nelson Gerrard)
where Halla Jonsdóttir's family is recorded - given that Salín's
husband's name is John, it seemed to them that it was meant to be.
Congratulations also to Elaine and Stephen Sigurdson on the
birth of their daughter, Heather Ann, on May 30th. She weighed in
at 8 lbs. 5 oz. - a sister for Laura, Claire and Amy. All are doing well
after a busy summer.
John Briem, our Membership Records Director, has retired and moved
to Wasaga, along with his wife Ada. However, he promises to keep up the
good work for us. He has built and now maintains a complete database of
all our members. He and his sister Margaret (Briem) Simmons are also working
on a Heritage Icelandic Cookbook, which should be complete soon.
OBITUARIES:
GEORGE DRUMMOND 1921 - 1996
(by Marilyn Ragna (Hurst) White)
The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto extends its sympathy to Jennie
Johnson Drummond, a long-standing member and Icelandic Choir accompanist,
whose husband, George, died suddenly on May 12th, 1996.
George Drummond was born in Toronto in 1921, graduated from Eastern High
School of Commerce, and served Canada with the RCAF both at home and overseas
during World War II. He married Jennie Johnson in Baldur, Manitoba, in
1944 and the couple returned to reside in Toronto in 1946. He was employed
by the City of Toronto as an accountant for 37 years.
As well as his wife, George is survived by his daughter Patricia, his son
Robert, daughter-in-law Barbara and his grandsons Michael, David and Paul.
RUTH SESSELJA KRISTIN EINARSON-MACMILLAN
SEPT. 5, 1925 - MAY 29, 1996
(by Don Gislason)
Ruth was born and raised in the town of Rosseau in the Muskoka area.
Her parents were Thorđur Einarson and Sigriđur Gudnadóttir.
She took her high school in Parry Sound and later, after graduating from
Nursing shortly after the war, she worked at Soldier's Memorial Hospital
in Orillia. Later, while working as a nurse in Parry Sound, she met her
future husband Charles MacMillan. They were married in 1950.
The couple moved to Sudbury where she worked at Sudbury/Algoma Hospital
as Head Nurse, then Director of Nursing and finally became a hospital administrator.
Ruth spearheaded the move to turn the hospital into a mental health centre
from its earlier role as a TB facility. As a result, the school at the
Centre was named the Ruth MacMillan School.
Ruth was predeceased by her brother, Fred Thordur Einarson (Esther)
of Rosseau, teacher, merchant and Reeve - sister Mable Guđrun (Ivan
Campbell), nurse and merchant in Rosseau - brother Alvin Vigfús
Einarson, engineer, d. 1994 (Gwen McElroy) of Scarborough.
She is survived by her brother, Lloyd Vidalín Einarson (Mary) of
Hamilton, and her beloved daughters, Elizabeth Sigríđur York
(David) of Toronto and Kristín Johnstone (Randall) of Vancouver.
She also leaves three grandchildren, Micah, Charlee and Frances.
Ruth's mother, Sigríđur, hails from the Mýrasýsla
district of western Iceland. As Sigriđur was an only child and had
no close relatives there, she emigrated in 1900 at the age of 19 in order
to join Gudnason cousins in Ontario. When she stepped off the lakes steamer
at the Rosseau docks, she was met by her relatives and their young friend,
Thorđur Einarson, who would later become her husband.
Ruth's father, Thorđur Einarsson came to Canada as an infant in 1887,
along with his brothers Vigfús and Guđmundur and their parents
Einar Bjarnason, farmer, and Sesselja Guđmundsdóttir. from Klettstía
(Craggy Enclosure) farm in North Ardal Toýsla district of western
Iceland.
INL CALENDARS ARE HERE!
Nelson Gerrard, INL historian, has outdone himself with the 1997
calendar - it features Icelandic costumes - all kinds of them, most being
modelled by the younger generation. Truly a work of art. Only $8 each plus
$2 for mailing one copy; $4 for mailing 2 to 5 copies. Call Irene at 293-2324
or fill out the form enclosed.
DID YOU KNOW ...
...that Iceland has the highest per capita sales in Europe of Scrabble
- 10,000 sets per year. Is it the high literacy rate or is it the long
nights in winter? If anyone here has a set, we'd love to borrow it for
our Icelandic classes and also to use at our meetings. Call Gail at (416)
762-8627.
